Check your pulse
Sebastian @ Snowflakes in Hell
The lobbying firm that runs the Ammunition Accountability web site is Gordon Thomas Honeywell, presumably their Governmental Affairs Group. You will notice that they list ACS as a client. Important to note that until recently Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs was known as Smith Alling Lane Government Affairs.
Tim Shellberg, who is President of GTH Government Affairs has several times donated to the campaign of Washington State Representative Allister O’Brien, who is the lead sponsor of the Washington Ammunition encoding bill. I also notice that Gun Owners Action League of Washington has donated quite a bit to his campaign as well. Not enough it would seem. O’Brien failed to win an endorsement from NRA last election.
And to think, Russell Ford said on Cam’s show he wants this whole thing to be as transparent as possible. Transparent as in we hire a lobbying firm to anonymously set up a web site to push for model legislation, and to lobby key legislators that have been quietly bought off, in order to be able to skim off the top of every one of the eight billion rounds of ammunition produced each year. You have to admit, that’s quite an ingenious scam, that would make even the most talented con artist jealous. And it’s all legal.
And here I thought it was the Brady astroturfers CeaseFire. I’d apologize to them, but they’d still suck, so what’s the point?
Found via Caleb @ Ahab
I’m not ready to buy into this rake-off theory just yet. First of all, encoded ammunition would be sold in FAR SMALLER amounts than is currently sold, and if the gambit succeeded in emasculating the gun culture, the encoders would have killed the goose which lays the golden eggs.
Better believe it, these sort of negatives ARE considered in even the scurviest pirate boardrooms.
I wouldn’t put it past Soros to have the Encoded Ammo, Inc people in HIS back pocket, to be the fall guys and give him deniability should these efforts fail and folks start asking the five Ws.
Just a thought: if ACS is actually behind the entire thing, the near-simultaneous introduction of legislation mandating these coding technologies and the destruction of present stocks of ammo, then said company needs to have it’s lobbying dealings researched thoroughly through the various States’ departments of commerce and licensing (the business license folks).
If and when any improprieties are discovered, this small company could be sidelined quickly.
Also, has anyone looked into the patent application process? Laser engraving has been around for years, and it stands to reason that ACS’ attempt to patent the process to themselves is going to depend on a claim of some kind that their engineering of the laser-guiding equipment for the engraving process is unique. THAT sounds challengeable.
Also, two engineering hurdles remain: the requirement that the laser equipment hold the bullet still for the engraving means that a huge number of the sets must be obtained to produce bullets in quantity, and the equipment cost to be saddled on to ammo makers would be huge.
The second hurdle is to prove that this laser engraving won’t upset the ballistics of the bullet, for if it does, the ammo makers will refuse to accept it.
I see the biggest weakness as the patent process, so why hasn’t the NRA hired a patent attorney yet? Or have they? Why haven’t the ILA been on to this yet?
Do we bloggers have to take the lead on EVERYTHING?